Lost Planet

Lost Planet will have been out in Japan for about a month by the time it ships in the West. Even when I log on at night, which would be morning to around noon-time in Japan, there are plenty of people on during the week.

So when you go online, chances are you’ll end up in a match with at least a few Japanese players. So, your favorite Lost Planet blogger (ME!), who also happens to be a translator at Capcom, is here to teach you some words and phrases to help you communicate with your teammates, and even do a little trash-talking if you feel so inclined.

Click for the full lesson.

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Before we get to the nitty-gritty, let’s go over pronunciation really quick.

Japanese pronunciation overall is very simple. There are 5 and only 5 vowel sounds – they don’t change depending on the consonants surrounding them like they do in English.

Japanese vowel sounds:
a = ah as in “father”
i = ee as in “feed”
u = oo as in “goose”
e = eh as in “let” or ay in “say”
o = o as in “gold”

It’s that simple. These vowels will always sound the same.

Next, you will see either vowels only, or a consonant + vowel combination. All Japanese words are made up of strings of vowels and/or consonant+vowel combinations. The one exception is the “n” sound, which functions alone without a consonant. You may also see double-consonants, as in the word “yatta” (see below).

Consonant sounds are very straight forward. The one exception is the “r” sound, which isn’t really an “r” sound at all as we know it in English. It’s more of a rolled/flicked Spanish “r” sound, like a combination of an L and a D. That’s why Japanese people often have trouble with Rs and Ls in English.

Okay, on to the fun stuff.

First of all, when a match starts, you will notice that even if the Japanese players don’t talk much, they will at least say onegai shimasu at the beginning of a match. Basically it’s a greeting to the host and the other players. Now, it may look like a long, indecipherable string of letters. But remember, Japanese words are strings of vowel and consonant-vowel combinations. So you have “o – ne – ga – i,” like “oh nay guy.” Then “shi – ma – su,” pronounced like “she – mah – ss” (the “u” on “su” is usually dropped at the end of sentences).

There, that wasn’t so hard.

The next common phrase you’ll probably hear every match comes at the end of the match, basically “good game, guys” in this particular context—otsukaresama deshita. Otsu-what? Yes, it looks a bit long. If you want, you can shorten it to “o – tsu – ka – re – sa – ma” or even “o – tsu – ka – re” if that’s easier to remember to start off with. A lot of times it will sound like the Japanese players, especially the guys, mumble. So even if you don’t have it perfect, if you can mumble a close approximation you should be okay.

Those two phrases are the basics. If you want to reach out to your fellow Japanese players more, below is a list of phrases that you can use to bridge the language gap. They’ll get a kick out of it (on Team matches, people you yell expletives at won’t be able to hear you anyway), and they may even know some English. You might even end up with some Japanese players on your friends list.

But more than anything, they’ll probably be amazed that you even know a few words. In fact, that might prove to be a good tactic in Elimination – distract them by spouting Japanese phrases, then move in for the kill.

Konnichiwa – Kon – ni – chi – wa
When to use: Pre-game lobby
Meaning: “Hello”

(Your name, slowly) desu – de – ss
When to use: In the lobby, to introduce yourself
Meaning: “I’m XXX” or “My name is XXX”

Amerika jin desu – A – me – ri – ka – jin – de – ss
When to use: If they sound curious about you speaking Japanese
Meaning: “I’m American”

**Substitute “Amerika” with “Igirisu” for “British,” “Kanada” for “Canadian,” etc. Other country names are usually close to their English counterpart, so if you say it slowly, then add “jin desu” you should be okay.

Ganbarimasho – Gan – ba – ri – ma – sho
When to use: At the beginning of a match
Meaning: “Let’s go get ‘em” – literally, “Let’s do our best”

Sumimasen – Su – mi – ma – sen
When to use: When you accidentally kill a teammate
Meaning: “I’m sorry”

Sutaato – Su – taa – to
When to use: When you want to encourage the host to start the match – often repeated several times
Meaning: “Start”

Katta! – Kat – ta
When to use: When you win a match
Meaning: “I/we won!”

Maketa – Ma – ke – ta
When to use: When you lose a match
Meaning: “I/we lost”

Mata ne – Ma – ta – ne
When to use: Saying goodbye to someone
Meaning: “See you later”

Next, here are some simple phrases to communicate your status to your teammates, or just blurt out for fun.

Tasukete! – Ta – su – ke – te
When to use: When you’re in trouble
Meaning: “Help!”

Yarareta – Ya – ra – re -ta
When to use: When you get killed
Meaning: “I’m down”

Wakarimasen – Wa – ka – ri – ma – sen
When to use: When you don’t know what someone is saying to you
Meaning: “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand”

Sukoshi – Su – ko – shi
When to use: When someone asks if you know Japanese
Meaning: “A little.”

Yabee! – Ya – bee (bay)
When to use: When you’re in trouble
Meaning: “I’m screwed” or “Oh, crap!”

Abunakatta – A – bu – na – kat – ta
When to use: When you barely escape a firefight alive
Meaning: “That was a close call”

Yamete kure – Ya – me – te – ku – re
When to use: When someone’s owning you
Meaning: “Stop!” or “Leave me alone!”

Utanaide! – U – ta – nai (like “ni” in “night” ) – de (day)
When to use: When a teammate is shooting you
Meaning: ” Don’t shoot!”

Onaji chiimu! – O – na – ji – chii (like “chee” in cheese) – mu
When to use: When a teammate is shooting you
Meaning: “Same team!”

Okay, on to some more “colorful” language. This will probably be the easiest to remember, because we always tend to remember the naughty stuff better.

Kakatte koi! – Ka – kat – te – koi (like “coy” )
When to use: General smack talk
Meaning: “Come and get some!”

Chikusho – Chi – ku – sho
When to use: When you’re frustrated
Meaning: ” Dammit”

Kono yaro! – Ko – no – ya – ro
When to use: When you’re mad at someone
Meaning: “You bastard!”

Shine – Shi – ne (nay)
When to use: When you’re trying to kill another player – better if repeated several times, with an extended “eeee” (aaaay!) at the end
Meaning: ” Die!”

Kore demo kurae – Ko – re – de – mo – ku – ra – e (ay)
When to use: When you’re trying to kill another player
Meaning: “Take that” or “How you like that!”

Zama miro – Za – ma – mi – ro
When to use: When you get revenge on someone who killed you first
Meaning: “How you like me now, huh?”

I know that’s a lot. Just copy and paste this into another document so you can keep it by your side as you venture online for the first time this weekend.

EDIT: Added “Kakatte koi” (“Come and get some!” )

—Brian

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